Method and apparatus for wrapping block-shaped commodities



Sept. 8, 1970 G. WAHLE ET AL 3,527,014

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING BLOCK-SHAPED COMMODITIES Filed June 26. 1967 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 7

Inventors; 120 Gi nter Wahle He/nz- Christen Lorenzen yflaam 1% 4e,

their Attorney Filed Jum 26, 1967 Sept. 8, 1970 wAHLE ET AL 3,527,014

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING BLOCK-SHAPED COMMODITIES s Sheets-Sheet 2 lnventors;

GUpter Wahle' Heinz-Christen Lorenzen by $1,744.41 J l/ 'lzvgf their Attorney Sept. 3, 1979 WAHLE ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING BLOCK-SHAPED COMMODITIES Filed June 26. 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 /nvemors Gdnter Wclhle He/hz-Christen Lorenzen y M A flfi'zw their Attorney 3,527,014 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING BLOCK-SHAPED COMMODITIES Gunter Wahle, Reinbeck, and Heinz-Christen Lorenzen, Hamburg, Germany, assignors to Hauni-Werke, Korber & Co., K.G., Bergedorf, Germany Filed June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 648,723 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 8, 1966,

30,804/66; July 21, 1966, 32,851/ 66 Int. Cl. B65b 11/28 US. C]. 53-33 39 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The output of a wrapping machine for cigarette packs is increased by carrying out the wrapping operation while the packs orbit with a turret about a fixed axis and perform movements in parallelism and radially of such axis and complete more than one revolution prior to removal from the turret. The packs are introduced into opensided pockets provided on the periphery of the turret and are thereupon shifted by the pockets axially together with the blanks which are converted into tubes prior to such axial movement. The tubes and the packs then move radially of but share the rotary movement of the turret while the pockets return to original axial positions to receive fresh blanks and fresh packs. The feed for blanks and the means for supplying packs to the pockets are adjacent to one annular zone of the turret and the radial movements of packs take place in a second annular zone of the turret. Finished packs are removed from the second annular zone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for applying wrappers or blanks around =block shaped commodities, particularly for providing cigarette packs with envelopes of adhesive-coated or weldable transparent or translucent synthetic plastic material.

Manufacturers of cigarettes or other tobacco-containing products strive to provide cigarette packs with envelopes of transparent plastic material at the same rate at which the packs issue from a packaging machine. However, presently known wrapping apparatus cannot increase their speed beyond a certain limit because, once the speed exceeds a rather low value, the quality of envelopes is unsatisfactory, either because the electrodes char or cause curling of plastic blanks or because the flaps, tucks and creases of the envelopes are not defined with requisite accuracy so that the envelope detracts 4 from the appearance and sales appeal of the finished product. As a rule, the tucking, folding, welding and other devices which convert blanks into envelopes are fixedly mounted adjacent to the periphery of a turret which travels along such devices to effect stagewise conversion of rectangular blanks into sealed envelopes. Consequently, and if the rotational speed of the turret exceeds a certain limit, the length of intervals during which the tucking, folding and other devices engage successive blanks is too short to insure the formation of clean tucks, folds, seams and creases. Also, the sealing action of conventional wrapping apparatus is not satisfactory if the speed of the turret is increased because the shortlasting contact between the blanks and the electrodes cannot insure the formation of lasting seams. On the other hand, and if the sealing or bonding action is accelerated by raising the temperature of electrodes, such electrodes are likely to char the blanks.

Additional problems arise when the wrapping apparatus of presently known design are arrested, as well as in United States Patent "ice connection with proper feeding of commodities and blanks and/or removal of finished products from the turret.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an important object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved wrapping or packing apparatus for cigarette packs or other substantially boxshaped commodities whose output exceeds the output of presently known apparatus and which can provide blockshaped commodities with eye-pleasing, properly sealed and sharply defined envelopes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of converting rectangular blanks of plastic or like material into envelopes which surround cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel devices for supplying blanks and box-shaped commodities to the assembly conveyor of the improved wrapping apparatus.

An additional object of the invention is to provide novel take-off means for receiving and/or stacking finished products which are wrapped in the apparatus of the above outlined character.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide novel assemblies of tucking, folding, bonding, and pressing devices which can be used in the improved apparatus to effect conversion of blanks into sealed envelopes.

A further object of th invention is to provide a novel assembly conveyor for the improved wrapping apparatus and to provide the conveyor with a novel safety device which prevents charring, curling or other damage to heat scalable blanks when the wrapping apparatus is brought to a halt.

Briefly outlined, one feature of our invention resides in the provision of a method of applying deformable blanks around block-shaped commodities, particularly of applying rectangular blanks of heat-scalable transparent synthetic plastic material around cigarette packs of the type having two large front faces, two longer side faces alternating with the front faces and two shorter end faces. The method comprises the steps of appplying a blank against a surface which travels continuously in a first direction (preferably in an endless path about a fixed horizontal axis), moving one side face of a pack transversely against the travelling blank to convert the latter into a U-shaped body which is draped over one side face and both front faces of the pack and whose marginal portions extend transversely beyond the end faces and outwardly beyond the other side face of the pack and simultaneously advancing the resulting U-shaped body and the pack in the first direction, providing the U-shaped body with a first pair of tucks overlying the end faces adjacent to the one side face of the pack (such tucks are preferably formed in automatic response to draping of the blank), folding the U-shaped body over the other side face of the pack to form a pair of overlying side flaps by simultaneous conversion of the U-shaped body into a tube, moving the tube axially in a second direction (i.e., in parallelism with the aforementioned horizontal axis) and simultaneously moving the tube and the pack in the first direction, bonding the side flaps to each other, moving the pack and the tube in a third direction at right angles to the second direction (preferably radially of the horizontal axis) and simultaneously providing the tube with a second pair of tucks overlying the end faces adjacent to the other side face of the pack, folding the tube over the end faces to form two pairs of end flaps which overlie the respective tucks and each other, and bonding the end flaps to each other while the resulting sealed envelope continues to move in the first direction, and moving the envelope away from the travelling surface.

It is further preferred to provide an additional step which involves pressing the end flaps and the tucks against the end faces of the pack upon completion of the second bonding operation. A second pressing or ironing step may take place simultaneously with travel of the tube in the second direction to prevent opening of the tube prior to the first sealing or bonding step. Each bonding step preferably involves the application of heat and pressure.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved wrapping apparatus itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawmg.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a wrapping apparatus which embodies one form of our invention, one of the take-off conveyors which can receive finished products from the turret of the wrapping apparatus being indicated by dot-dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a larger-scale side elevational view of the turret which forms part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a portion of the turret being broken away;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the turret, substantially as seen in the direction 'of the arrow III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken through the turret at right angles to the axis of rotation and showing a safety brake which prevents damage to blanks when the apparatus is stopped; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of a modified supply conveyor which can deliver block-shaped commodities to a turret of the type shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The apparatus which is shown in the drawings is utilized to provide block-shaped commodities, particularly cigarette packs, with wrappers or envelopes of transparent or translucent heat-sealable synthetic plastic material. Referring first to FIG. 1, the apparatus therein shown comprises a continuously driven assembly conveyor in the form of a turret 1 which is rotatable about a horizontal shaft 28. The apparatus further comprises a feed for supplying precut transparent rectangular blanks 2 to the peripheral surface of the turret 1, a supply conveyor which furnishes to the turret a succession of blockshaped commodities 3 (hereinafter called packs or cigarette packs), displacing means for introducing packs 3 into successive open-sided radially extending pockets 4 of the turret 1, sets of tucking, folding and bonding means for converting the blanks 2 into envelopes or wrappers while the blanks share the movement of the turret, and a take-off conveyor which removes wrapped packs 5 from the turret. The open side of each pocket 4 faces away from the shaft 28.

The feed comprises a bobbin 6 which constitutes a source of transparent tape or web 7. The latter is drawn from the bobbin 6 by a pair of advancing rolls 8 driven at a speed which is properly related to the speed of the turret 1, and the feed also includes a driven suction drum 9 which serves as a counterknife and cooperates with the blade or blades 13 of a revolving knife to subdivide the web 7 into a succession of deformable rectangular blanks 2. The peripheral speed of the suction drum 9 exceeds the speed of the web 7 so that the blanks 2 are automatically separated from each other by narrow gaps clearly shown in FIG. 1.

The supply conveyor for packs 3 comprises an endless conveyor belt 14 which receives packs from storage or from a packaging machine and advances the packs sideways so that one side face of each pack faces the periphery of the turret 1. The upper stringer of the belt 14 delivers the packs 3 onto a platform or bridge 15 along which the packs slide until the leading side face of the foremost pack reaches a stop 16. The displacing means comprises pairwise arranged entraining members or prongs 17 located behind each pocket 4 and extending radially outwardly from the turret 1, and a stationary displacing cam 18 which is installed downstream of the bridge 15, as considered in the direction of rotation of the turret 1. An inserting device comprises a wheel 19 which is located downstream of the displacing cam 18 and is provided with paddles or arms 20 which can engage successive packs 3 in order to move such packs all the way into the interior of the respective pockets 4. The rotational speed of the wheel 19 is selected in such a way that successive paddles 20 automatically engage successive packs 3 while the packs travel with the turret 1, i.e., while the packs orbit about the shaft 28.

The supply conveyor for packs 3 is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3. The discharge end of the belt 14 is trained around a guide roll 23 which is disposed below a tunnel-shaped mouthpiece for the packs. The mouthpiece includes two vertical side walls 24, 25 and a horizontal top wall 26, the latter being provided with two cutouts for portions of presser rolls 11 which extend into the passage defined by the tunnel to engage the upper front faces of packs 3 and to press such packs against the upper stringer of the belt 14. The platform or bridge 15 resembles a scraper and is closely adjacent to that portion of the belt 14 which is trained around the guide roll 23. The aforementioned displacing cam 18 comprises two sections 18', 18" each connected to or integral with one of the side walls 24, 25. The width of the bridge 15, as considered in the radial direction of the turret 1, is such that the pairwise arranged prongs 17 can travel in the space between the bridge and the periphery of the turret.

The turret 1 is driven at a constant speed by any conventional drive means and comprises a main structural element in the form of a disk or plate 27 which is rotatable on the shaft 28 and carries twelve equidistant radially extending pockets 4. The open sides of the pockets 4 face radially outwardly and extend in the axial direction of the turret 1, i.e., at right angles to the direction of rotary movement of the disk 27. The disk 27 carries arcuate plates 31 which together constitute a cylinder or shell of the turret 1 and are provided with retaining means in the form of suction ducts 32 disposed ahead of and past each pocket 4. The ducts 32 communicate with suction channels 21, 22 (see FIG. 2) which are connected to a suction fan or another suitable suction generating device during part of each revolution of the turret 1. The manner in which the channels 21, 22 are connectable to and sealable from flexible conduits which lead to the suction fan is well known from the art, for example, from the art of filter cigarette machines and need not be described here.

The plates 31 define between themselves axially parallel gaps (shown in FIG. 3) through which the packs 3 advance in order to enter the respective pockets 4. Each of these pockets 4 comprises two walls 29, which extend substantially radially of the turret 1 and are movable back and forth in parallelism with the turret axis. Each pocket 4 also carries two tucking members 33, 34 which are disposed at the ends of the respective walls 29, 30. The tucking members 33, 34 are provided with cutouts 41 42 and are rigid with the walls 29, 30 to form therewith a compartment 35 which is dimensioned to snugly recelve a pack 3. The tucking member 33 is further rigid with a rod 36 (shown in the left-hand porton of FIG. 3) one end of which carries a holder 37 for a roller follower 38 which can travel in a cam groove 39 provided in a stationary cam 39a installed adjacent to one side of the disk 27. The parts 36-3911 cooperate to move the pocket 4 axially of the turret 1.

The aforementioned displacing prongs 17 are located radially outwardly of the wall 29 and are affixed to a platelike carrier 40. This carrier is mounted on a bracket 43 which is attached to one side face of the disk 27, namely, to that side face which is adjacent to the tucking member 34. The bracket 43 is spaced from the plates 31 to provide a clearance for the passage of blanks 2.

Each pocket 4 is further associated with two movable folding members 44, 45 which resemble L-shaped profiles and each of which is provided with a cutout 46. The fold ing member 44 has two arms 47 which are affixed to a crankshaft 48 having a crank arm 49 provided with a roller follower 50. The follower 50 tracks the face of a stationary cam 53 which is indicated in FIG. 2 by dotdash lines. The folding member 45 has arms 54 aflixed to a crankshaft 55 having a crank arm 56 which is provided with a roller follower 57. The latter tracks the face of a second stationary cam 58 shown in FIG. 2 by dotdash lines. The outer end portions of the folding members 44, 45 are movable across-the open side of the respective pocket 4 to provide a blank with two elongated side flaps.

Each pocket 4 is movable into and from registry with a radially outwardly extending wrapping assembly or unit 62. The unit 62 which is shown in FIG. 3 comprises a radially extending plate-like support or platform 63 and two beams or rails 59, spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to the length of the front or side faces on a pack 3, as considered in the axial direction of the turret 1. The support 63 is affixed to the rails 59, 60 which are secured to the disk 27, i.e., each unit 62 shares all rotary movements of the turret 1. The rails 59, 60 support two fixed tucking members 64 which are in registry with each other, pairs of folding members 65, 66 which are outwardly adjacent to the tucking members 64, bonding members here shown as welding jaws or electrodes 69 which are movable toward and away from each other transversely of the rails 59, 60 and are connected with conductors 67, 68, and two spring-biased pressing or ironing members 70 which are movable transversely of the rails. The jaws 69 are provided with arms 73 which are reciprocable along a shaft 74. This shaft is mounted in a crosshead 79 and carries helical expansion springs 75 which are outwardly adjacent to the arms 73. The crosshead 79 has a leg 76 which constitutes a stop for one of the springs 75. The other spring 75 bears against a washer 77 which is mounted on the crosshead 79. The shaft '74 is journalled in the leg 76 and in a bearing 78 of the crosshead 79. The latter constitutes one of several connecting elements which secure the wrapping unit 62 to the disk 27 of the turret 1. The remaining connecting elements are not shown in FIG. 3; they provide a connection between the leg 76 of the crosshead 79 and the disk 27. The latter constitutes one of several connecting elements which secure the wrapping unit 62 to the disk 27 of the turret 1. The remaining connecting elements are not shown in FIG. 3; they provide a connection between the leg 76 of the crosshead 79 and the disk 27. The crosshead 79 is formed with two elongated slots 80 for the arms 73 of the welding jaws 69. Each of the arms 73 has a hub 83 provided with an inclined cam face 84 which cooperates with a roller 85 mounted on a radial pin 86 of the shaft 74. The left-hand end of the shaft 74, as viewed in FIG. 3, carries a crank arm 87 for a roller follower 88 which travels in a groove 89 provided in a fixed cam 89a. The cam 89a is adjacent to the aforementioned cam 39a.

The ejector means for moving the packs 3 radially out wardly out of the respective compartments 35 and along the respective wrapping units 62 comprises pushers or plungers 90 one of which is shown in FIG. 3. This plunger is dimensioned in such a way that it can move between the cutouts 46 of the folding members 44, 45 and is afixed to a rod 93 which is secured to a clamp or shoe 94 reciprocable on a radial guide rod 95 shown in FIG. 2. The guide rod 95 is mounted in a retainer 96 which is secured to the disk 27.

6 The means for imparting motion to the plungers 90 comprises a fixed cam 97 (shown in FIG. 2 by dot-dash lines) cooperating with roller followers 98 provided on the clamps 94.

Referring again to FIG. 3, each wrapping unit 62 is in registry with a further bonding member here shown as a welding electrode or jaw 99 which is adjacent to the radially innermost parts of the rails 59, 60 and is connected with conductors 100, 103. This welding jaw 99 is carried by two arms aflixed to a hollow shaft 104 which is turnable in bearings 106, 107 carried by the disk 27. The shaft 104 is provided with a crank arm 108 for a roller follower 109. As shown in FIG. 4, the follower 109 is received in a bifurcated arm 110 of a bell crank lever 113. The other arm 114 of the lever 113 carries a roller 115 which tracks a fixed cam 116. Of course, the apparatus comprises a total of twelve welding jaws 99 and an equal number of bell crank levers 113. The same holds true for the number of wrapping units 62. Each lever 113 is rockable on a pivot pin 118 and is biased by a helical contraction spring 117 which urges its arm 114 against a stop post 112. The pins 118 are mounted on an inner ring 119. One end of each spring 117 is affixed to the ring 119 and the latter is mounted on the shaft 28 and rotates in synchronism with the disk 27. The ring 119 carries three rollers 120 supporting an outer ring 123 which is also supported by the disk 27. The outer ring 123 carries a motion transmitting member 124 which is connected to one end of a spring 125. The other end of this spring is affixed to the inner ring 119. The motion transmitting member 124 is rigid with the outer ring 123 and bears against one of two stops 121, 122 on the inner ring 119. The aforementioned stop posts 112 are aflixed to the outer ring 123.

The shaft 28 of the turret 1 carries a rigidly connected radial arm or extension 126 which is provided with an axially parallel pin 127 for a rockable braking lever 128 provided with a brake shoe 129. The extension 126 further supports an electromagnet 130 having a reciprocable armature 132 biased by a spring 131. When the electromagnet 130 is energized, the armature 132 moves inwardly against the opposition of the spring 131 and causes the shoe 129 to move away from the outer ring 123. Thus, the spring 131 supplies the braking force and the electromagnet 130 supplies the disengaging force for the shoe 129.

The aforementioned take-off conveyor receives wrapped or finished packs 5 from successive wrapping units 62 of the turret 1. Each pocket 4 is associated with a shifting cam 133 (see particularly FIG. 2) which is rigidly connected to the disk 27. Each of these shifting cams 133 extends from the corresponding wrapping unit 62 toward the next-following unit 62, as considered in the direction of rotation of the turret 1. The radially outermost trailing portion of each shifting cam 133 has an abutment 134 for wrapped packs 5 to arrest the wrapped pack at the radially outermost end of the respective wrapping unit 62. The take-off conveyor includes a fixed receiving platform 135 which is adjacent to the turret 1 and serves to deliver finished packs to a conveyor belt 136 (see FIG. 1). This belt 136 can be replaced by a chute or duct 137 (indicated in FIG. 1 by dot-dash lines) which receives successive packs 5 from the receiving platform 135 if the belt 136 is dispensed with. The chute 137 discharges packs into the cells of an endless conveyor 139 whereon the packs 5 are separated from each other by entraining elements or plates 138. The arrangement is preferably such that each cell of the conveyor 139 receives several finished packs 5, for example, two packs.

Each of the aforementioned sets of tucking, folding and bonding means is associated with one of the pockets 4 and comprises a first pair of tucking members 33, 34 on the respective pocket, an electrode or jaw 99, a second pair of tucking members 64, a first pair of folding members 44, 45, two additional pairs of folding members 65, 66, and two electrodes or jaws 69.

The operation is as follows:

It is assumed that the wrapping apparatus is running and that the advancing rolls 8 (FIG. 1) draw the web 7 from the bobbin 6. The suction drum 9 cooperates with the blade or blades 13 to separate from the leading end of the advancing web 7 a succession of rectangular blanks 2 which are applied against the external surfaces of the plates 31 (FIG. 3) on the disk 27 in such a way that each blank 2 overlies the radially outermost open side of the respective pocket 4, i.e., that the blanks close the open sides of the respective compartments 35. The ducts 32 draw air into the respective channels 21, 22 (FIG. 2) so that the blanks 2 adhere to external surfaces of the associated plates 31 in such a way that equal portions of each blank extend forwardly and rearwardly of the respective pocket 4. Thus, the blanks 2 share the rotary movement of the turret 1 and travel in a first direction by orbiting about the axis of the shaft 28.

When a blank 2 covers an angular distance of about 120 degrees and reaches the feeding station where the turret 1 receives packs 3 from the supply conveyor, i.e., when such blank travels along the bridge 15, the corresponding displacing prongs 17 of the turret 1 engage the lower front face of the foremost pack 3 which abuts against the stop 16 and lift this pack off the bridge so that the pack thereupon participates in rotary movement of the turret about the shaft 28. The foremost pack 3 was fed by the upper stringer of the belt 14 and has advanced below the top Wall 26 and presser rolls 11 of the aforementioned mouthpiece. As the pack 3 which is engaged by the prongs 17 moves otf the bridge 15, it travels between the sections 15', 18" of the displacing cam 18. These sections bear against the outer side face of the pack 3 and cause it to penetrate into the registering compartment 35 whereby the inner side face of the pack causes the corresponding blank 2 to move radially inwardly and to drape itself around the two large front faces of the pack. Thus, the blank 2 is converted into a U-shaped body which overlies the radially inner side face and the large front faces of the respective pack 3. The marginal portions of the U-shaped body extend laterally beyond the end faces and outwardly beyond the outer side face of the pack 3. At the same time, the two tucking members 33, 34 form in the U-shaped body a first pair of tucks 140 (FIG. 2) which are folded against the respective end faces of the pack 3 in response to penetration of the pack into the associated compartment 35. Of course, the pack 3 continues to travel with the turret 1 and advances to ward the inserting wheel 19 one paddle 20 of which engages the outer side face of the pack and causes the latter to penetrate into the deepmost portion of the respective compartment 35. The wheel 19 constitutes an optional feature of our apparatus because, as a rule, the sections 18', 18" of the displacing cam 18 are capable of insuring complete insertion of packs 3 into the respective pockets 4. The main function of the paddles 20 is to insure that each successive pack 3 enters the corresponding compartment to the same extent.

During the next stage of the cycle, the cam 53 (FIG. 2) causes the roller follower to rock the corresponding movable folding member 44 so as to fold the upper radial ly outermost marginal portion of the U-shaped body against the outer side face of the pack 3 to form an inner side flap 142 which is shown in FIG. 2. Such movement of the folding member 44 is followed by rocking or pivoting of the folding member 45 (cam 58 and roller follower 57) so that the member 45 folds the lower radially outermost marginal portion of the U-shaped body and forms an outer side flap 141 which overlies the inner side flap 142 (see the top part of FIG. 2). In other words, the U-shaped body is then converted into a tube which is already provided with overlying side flaps 142, 141 and with two tucks 140. All such operations are performed while the respective pocket 4 travels with a first annular 8 region or zone A (see FIG. 3) of the turret 1. The zone A is provided at one axial end of the turret, and the latter comprises a second annular zone B which accommodates the aforementioned wrapping assemblies or units 62.

During the next stage of rotary movement of the turret 1, the cam 39a causes the corresponding roller follower 38 to move the rod 36 in a direction to the left, as viewed in FIG. 3, whereby the entire pocket 4 shares such movement and moves in a second direction in parallelism with the axis of the turret from the zone A into the zone B. The overlying portions of the side flaps 142, 141 on the tube are then placed into registry with the welding jaw 99 at the inner end of the associated wrapping unit 62. The side flaps 142, 141 cannot move away from each other and from the adjacent outer side face of the pack 3 because they are held and pressed in overlying positions by the movable folding members 44, 45 which are long enough to prevent opening of the tube. The cam 116 (FIG. 4) then causes the corresponding bell crank lever 113 to move the welding jaw 99 radially inwardly and to bond the side flaps 142, 141 to each other. In other words, the lever 113 is rocked while the corresponding pack 3 continues to share the movement of the turret 1 about the axis of the shaft 28. The jaw 99 can reach the side flaps 142, 141 by passing through the cutouts 46 (FIG. 3) of the folding members 44, 45. The cam 116 thereupon permits the spring 117 to rock the lever 113 so that the jaw 99 moves away from engagement with the freshly formed bond or seam between the side flaps 141, 142. At the same time, the cam 97 causes the roller follower 98 on the clamp 94 for the rod 93 of the associated ejecting plunger to move the latter radially outwardly so that the plunger engages the freshly sealed tube and moves the tube and the associated pack 3 in a third direction radially outwardly and away from the axis of the shaft 28 whereby the pack travels along the rails 59, 60. All this takes place while the pack 3 continues to share rotary movement of the turret 1. The pack slides along the support or platform 63 of the associated wrapping unit 62 (i.e., the pack moves at right angles to the direction of movement of the turret or, better to say, radially outwardly and away from the shaft 28) whereby the tucking members 64 (FIG. 3) provide the tube with two additional tucks 143 opposite the tucks 140. The tucks 143 lie fiat against the end faces of the pack. As the pack continues to slide along the support 63, it advances past the pairwise arranged folding members 65, 66 which respectively form inner and outer end flaps 145, 144 (FIG. 2). Each inner end flap 145 overlies two tucks 140, 143 and each outer end flap 144 overlies an inner end flap 145. This completes the wrapping operation because the tube is nOW converted into an envelope which follows closely all six faces of the pack 3. All that remains is to bond the two pairs of inner and outer end flaps 145, 144 to each other by means of the welding jaws 69 and to iron or press the resulting seams by the members 70. The plunger 90 continues to move the pack 3 radially outwardly whereby the pack slides along the support 63 and moves between the welding jaws 69. Once the pack enters the space between the jaws 69, the roller follower 98 causes the plunger 90 to suddenly return to its radially innermost position at a very high speed. This can be seen by observing the configuration of the cam 97 in FIG. 3. By now, a pack 3 has almost completed a full revolution about the axis of the shaft 28. The jaws 69 apply heat to and bond the respective pairs of end flaps 144, 145 to each other to complete the conversion of the blank 2 into an airtight envelope, i.e., the pack 3 and the associated envelope then form a finished or wrapped pack 5. The plunger 90 then performs the next working stroke and causes the next-following pack 3 to move the finished pack 5 radially outwardly, i.e., beyond the jaws 69 and into the space between the pressing members 70 which are biased by springs and bear against the freshly formed seams between the adjoining pairs of end flaps 144, 145. The pressing members 70 insure the formation of sharply outlined creases between the side panels and the end panels of the envelopes, i.e., they iron the end flaps 144,

i 145 as well as the tucks 140, 143. The duration of contact between pressing members 70 and the adjoining end flaps and tucks of the finished envelope is selected in such a way that the seam between the end flaps 144, 145 sets before the finished pack is moved beyond the pressing members.

The manner in which the welding jaws 69 move toward and away from each other in response to orbiting of the wrapping unit 62 about the shaft 28 of the turret 1 is self-evident by looking at FIG. 3.

When a finished pack 5 is held between the springbiased pressing members 70, it continues to rotate with the turret 1 for about one-half of a full revolution and is held against movement radially outwardly by the adjoining abutment 134 of the shifting cam 133 which is associated with the preceding wrapping unit 62 (see FIG. 2). It is removed from the turret 1 by the stationary receiving platform 135 and is immediately advanced along the platform by the next-following shifting cam 133 through a distance which corresponds to the width of a finished pack (distance between the side faces). The next finished pack 5 which is deposited on the receiving platform 135 causes the preceding finished pack to move further away from the turret 1 until it reaches the upper run of the belt 136 or the inlet of the chute 137 (FIG. 1). The belt 136 or the conveyor 139 of FIG. 1 advances finished packs 5 to storage or directly to a binding or carton filling machine, not shown. If the finished packs 5 are to be fed to a carton filling machine, the belt 136 is preferably replaced by the chute 137 so that the latter can deliver pairs of finished packs into successive cells of the endless conveyor 139. The contents of five successive cells (i.e., a total of ten finished packs 5 which form five stacks of two finished packs each) are then introduced into successive cartons in a manner not forming part of the present invention.

Of course, the take-ofi conevyor of FIG. 1 can be used in combination with a carton filling machine without resorting to the chute 137 and conveyor 139. This can be achieved by omitting each second shifting cam 133 so that the platform 135 accumulates stacks of two finished packs 5 each. If the number of cams 133 is reduced to six, the platform 135 automatically accumulates pairs of. stacked packs 5 and such stacks are advanced by the width of a finished pack in response to movement of successive shifting cams 133 past the discharging or evacuating station between the turret 1 and receiving platform 135. The belt 136 then receives a train of pairwise stacked packs 5 and advances them to the carton filling machine.

The structure which is illustrated in FIG. 4 becomes effective when the wrapping apparatus is brought to a standstill, for example, in order to replace an exhausted bobbin 6 with a fresh bobbin or to replace the blade 13 of the knife with a freshly sharpened blade. During such stoppage of the wrapping apparatus, the welding jaws 99 could burn or sear the flaps 141, 142. The structure of FIG. 4 automatically shifts the welding jaws 99 away from the adjoining blanks 2 to prevent overheating which could cause burning, searing, crinkling or other deformation of the blanks. In other words, the purpose of the structure shown in FIG. 4 is to move the welding jaws 99 to the idle or retracted positions shown in FIG. 4 (top) or in the lower part of FIG. 2. The electromagnet 130 is deenergized in automatic response to stoppage of the turret 1. The spring 131 is then free to move the brake shoe 129 against the outer ring 123 by rocking the lever 128 on the pin 127 of the extension 126. The inner ring 119 continues to turn due to inertia and changes its angular position with reference to the suddenly arrested outer ring 133. The stop 121 of the inner ring 119 moves away from the motion transmitting member 124 on the outer ring 123 and the member 124 engages the stop 122 of the inner ring 119 to hold the inner ring against further rotation. This causes the posts 112 on the outer ring 123 to rock the bell crank levers 113 so that the arms of the levers 113 rock the jaws 99 about the axes of hollow shafts 104 and move the jaws away from the adjoining blanks 2. Thus, stoppage of the wrapping apparatus automatically entails movement of welding jaws 99 away from the treated blanks to prevent deformation or burning. The means for moving the jaws 69 is provided with a similar safety device which is analogous to the structure shown in FIG. 4 but is not specifically shown in the drawing.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a modified supply conveyor which supplies packs 3 to the turret 1. The purpose of this supply conveyor is to reduce the space requirements of the wrapping apparatus. This is achieved by arranging the supply conveyor in such a way that it delivers packs 3 in a direction which is parallel to the axis of the turret 1, i.e., not radially of the turret as shown in FIG. 1. It comprises an endless conveyor belt 214 which is trained around a guide roll 223 and delivers packs 3 to a platform or bridge 215. The latter is provided with slots 212 for the prongs 17 of the turret 1 and carries side walls 224, 225 the latter of which is provided with a window 213 for entry of packs 3 into the space between the walls 224, 225. Each of the walls 224, 225 carries one section of a displacing cam 218 which is the functional equivalent of the cam 18 shown in FIG. 1 or 3. The receiving end of the platform 215 diverges toward the discharge end of the belt 214 and is provided with side rails 216 which guide the packs into the space between the walls 224, 225 for proper engagement by the prongs 17. The wall 224 also performs the function of the stop 16 shown in FIG. 1.

The discharge end of the belt 214 delivers successive packs 3 onto the platform 215. Each pack is pushed by the next-following pack 3 to travel between the converging rails 216 and to pass through the window 213 of the wall 225 prior to entering the space between the Walls 224, 225. The wall 224 holds the foremost pack 3 until the next-following prongs 17 enter the slots 212 and lift the foremost pack 3 off the platform 215. Such pack is then engaged by the displacing cam 218 and is moved into the compartment 35 of the associated pocket 4 in the same way as described in connection with FIGS 1 to 3.

A very important advantage of our wrapping apparatus is that it can turn out a much larger number of finished packs 5 than a conventional wrapping apparatus. As a matter of fact, the output of the 'wrapping apparatus which was described in connection with the drawings is a multiple of the output of a conventional apparatus. Despite such increased output, the individual wrapping steps take longer or at least as long as in conventional apparatus so that the increase in output is not effected at the expense of quality of envelopes. This is achieved by such mounting of the pockets 4 that each pocket can travel with the turret 1 and is additionally capable of movement in the axial direction of the turret. Thus, during movement from the zone A to the zone B, the pockets 4 move the packs 3 and tubes in parallelism with the axis of the turret 1 but participate in rotary movement of the turret about the axis of the shaft 28. During movement along the rails 59, 60 and support 63 of the wrapping assemblies 62, the packs 3 travel radially outwardly but again share rotary movement of the turret 1. To our knowledge, all presently known wrapping or packaging machines utilize pockets which cannot move axially of the turret. Furthermore, to our knowledge, we were first to arrange the various folding, tucking, pressing and welding or bonding members in two axially spaced annular zones of the turret. The feed for blanks 2 and the supply conveyor for packs 3 deliver to the annular .zone A, and the wrapping units 62 treat the wrapping material in the annular zone 1 1 B. The latter also delivers finished packs to the take-off conveyor. It will be seen that, during travel with the turret, 1 each blank 2 and each pack 3 completes more than a single revolution.

It is clear that our method and apparatus are susceptible of many additional modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the blanks 2 may be provided with coats of adhesive which will cause the flaps 141, 142 and 144, 145 to adhere to each other in response to application of heat and/ or pressure. Furthermore, the blanks 2 need not consist of transparent or translucent material and each such blank may be provided with a conventional tear strip to facilitate opening of the envelopes. Also, the packs 3 need not contain cigarettes. For example, such packs could contain cigars, cigarillos, chewing tobacco or any other product or products which should be wrapped in a fully automatic way.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of our contribution to the art.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A method of applying blanks around cigarette packs or like block-shaped commodities of the type having pairs of front, side and end faces, comprising applying a blank against a surface which travels continuously in a first direction; moving one side face of a commodity transversely against the travelling blank to convert the blank into a U-shaped body, which is draped over one side face and over the front faces and whose marginal portions extend transversely beyond the end faces and outwardly beyond the other side face of the commodity and simultaneously advancing said body and said commodity in said first direction; providing said body with a first pair of tucks overlying the end faces adjacent to the one side face of the commodity; folding the body over the other side face of the commodity to form a pair of overlying side flaps by simultaneous conversion of said body into a tube; moving the tube axially in a second direction transversely of said first direction and simultaneously moving the tube in said first direction; bonding the side flaps to each other; moving the commodity and the tube in a third direction at right angles to said second direction and simultaneously providing the tube with a second pair of tucks overlying the end faces adjacent to the other side face, folding the tube over the end faces to form pairs of overlying end flaps adjacent to each end face, and bonding the overlying end flaps to each other while the resulting envelope continues to move in said first direction; and moving the envelope away from said surface.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said surface orbits about a fixed axis and wherein said second and third directions respectively extend in parallelism with and radially of such axis.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said blank consists of transparent synthetic plastic material.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of providing the U-shaped body with said first pair of tucks takes place in response to movement of said one side face of the commodity against the travelling blank.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising the step of pressing said side flaps against the other side face of the commodity while the tube moves in said second direction.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, further comprising the step of pressing said tucks and said end flaps fiat against said end faces upon completion of said second bonding step and while the envelope continues to travel in said first direction.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the blank consists of heat-sealable material and each of said bonding steps includes the application of heat and pressure.

8. Apparatus for applying blanks around cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities of the type having pairs of front, side and end faces, comprising a substantially turret-shaped assembly conveyor arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a plurality of peripheral pockets each having an open side facing away from said axis and each dimensioned to receive a commodity; means for moving said pockets axially as the assembly conveyor rotates; retaining means provided on said conveyor in the region of each pocket for yieldably holding blanks in position in which the blanks overlie the open sides of the respective pockets; a feed for applying to said conveyor a succession of blanks which overlie successive pockets; supply means for delivering a succession of commodities to said conveyor downstream of said feed; displacing means for introducing the thus delivered commodities into successive pockets by simultaneous conversion of blanks which overlie such pockets into U-shaped bodies each of which is draped over one side face and both front faces of the respective commodity; and sets of tucking, folding and bonding means for converting said U-shaped bodies into completely sealed envelopes each of which follows the outline of the respective commodity.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said retaining means comprises a plurality of suction ducts provided in said conveyor to draw the blanks against the peripheral surface of the conveyor during travel of said blanks from said feed toward said displacing means.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein each of said pockets extends radially of said axis.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the open sides of said pockets are elongated and extend in parallelism with the axis of said assembly conveyor.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said assembly conveyor comprises a pair of axially spaced zones one of which registers with said feed and said supply means and the other of which accommodates at least some of said tucking, folding and bonding means.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 12, further comprising take-off means arranged to received sealed envelopes from the other zone of said assembly conveyor.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the tucking means of each set comprises a pair of tucking members rigid with the respective pocket and arranged to provide the respective U-shaped body with a pair of tucks overlying the end faces adjacent to the one side face of the respective commodity, and wherein the molding means of each set comprises a pair of folding members associated with and movable relative to each pocket to convert the respective U-shaped body into a tube having a pair of overlying side flaps abutting against the other side face of the respective commodity.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein each of said tucking means further comprises a second pair of tucking members fixedly carried by said conveyor and arranged to provide the respective tubes with second pairs of tucks overlying the end faces adjacent to the other side faces of the adjoining commodities, each of said folding means further comprising two additional pairs of folding members arranged to provide the respective tubes with pairs of end flaps overlying said tucks so that such tubes then form envelopes completely surrounding the respective commodities.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim '8, wherein said blanks consist of heat-scalable material and wherein said tucking and folding means are arranged to convert the U-shaped bodies into envelopes each having two pairs of tucks overlying the end faces, two pairs of end flaps overlying such pairs of tucks, and a pair of side flaps overlying the other side face of the respective commodity, each of said bonding means comprising first heating means for bonding said side flaps to each other and second heating means for bonding said pairs of end flaps to each other, each of said pockets being movable with reference to said conveyor into registry with the first and second heating means of the respective set.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein each of said tucking means comprises a first pair of tucking members which are rigid with the respective pockets and a second pair of tucking members which are spaced from the first tucking members in the radial direction of said conveyor, each of said folding means comprising first folding members aligned with the first pair of tucking members and additional folding members aligned with the second tucking members of the respective set, said first and second heating means being aligned with said second pairs of tucking members, said pairs of second tucking members forming with said additional folding members and said heating means a plurality of wrapping units which rotate with said conveyor and said pockets being movable into and from registry with the respective wrapping units to receive U-shaped bodies when out of registry with the respective units, and further comprising means for ejecting the commodities and the respective tubes from said pockets and for moving such commodities along the respective units.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein said units extend substantially radially of said axis and wherein said first folding members comprise pairs of folding members movable across the open sides of the respective pockets to thereby provide the U-shaped bodies with said side flaps, said movable folding members being arranged to form said side flaps while the respective pockets are out of registry with said units.

19. Apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein said movable folding members have cutouts and said first heating means are movable through such cutouts and into engagement with the side flaps.

20. Apparatus as defined in claim 16, further comprising cam-operated means for moving said heating means with reference to the respective flaps.

21. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein each of said bonding means comprises a plurality of heating means and further comprising means for disengaging at least one heating means of each bonding means from the blanks in response to a predetermined reduction in rotational speed of said conveyor.

22. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein each of said folding means comprises a pair of folding members movable across the open side of the respective pocket and cam-operated means for moving said folding members.

23. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein each of said sets further comprises pressing means for pressing portions of sealed envelopes against the end faces of the respective commodities.

24. Apparatus for applying blanks around cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities of the type having pairs of front, side and end faces, comprising a substantially turrent-shaped assembly conveyor arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a plurality of peripheral pockets each having an open side facing away from said axis and each dimensioned to receive a commodity; retaining means provided on said conveyor in the region of each pocket for yieldably holding blanks in positions in which the blanks overlie the open sides of the respective pockets; a feed for applying to said conveyor a succession of blanks which overlie successive pockets; supply means for delivering a succession of commodities to said conveyor downstream of said feed; displacing means for introducing the thus delivered commodities into successive pockets by simultaneous conversion of blanks which overlie such pockets into U- shaped bodies each of which is draped over one side face and both front faces of the respective commodity, said conveyor comprising a first annular zone which travels past said feed and said supply means and a second annular zone which is axially spaced from said first zone,

said pockets being movable axially of said conveyor into each of said zones to receive U-shaped bodies and commodities while located in said first zone and to be relieved of commodities and blanks while located in said second zone; and sets of tucking, folding and bonding means carried by and travelling with said conveyor for converting said U-shaped bodies into sealed envelopes each of which follows the outline of the respective commodity, each of said sets including a unit of tucking, folding and bonding means disposed in said second zone and each of said units further comprising guide means for guiding the commodities and the respective blanks past the corresponding tucking, folding and bonding means substantially radially of said conveyor.

25. Apparatus as defined in claim 24, wherein each of said units further comprises a support for one front face of a commodity and each of said guide means comprises a pair of rails flanking the respective support, the tucking, folding and bonding means of said units being carried by the respective rails and being disposed intermediate such rails.

26. Apparatus as defined in claim 25, wherein each of said units further comprises a pair of pressing means disposed downstream of the respective bonding means for pressing portions of envelopes against the end faces of the respective commodities.

27. Apparatus for applying blanks around cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities of the type having pairs of front, side and end faces, comprising a substantially turrent-shaped assembly conveyor arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a plurality of peripheral pockets each having an open side facing away from said axis and each dimensioned to receive a commodity, said pockets being movable axially of said conveyor; means for moving each pocket independently of the other pockets; retaining means provided on said conveyor in the region of each pocket for yieldably holding blanks in positions in which the blanks overlie the open sides of the respective pockets; a feed for applying to said conveyor a succession of blanks which overlie successive pockets; supply means for delivering a succession of commodities to said conveyor downstream of said feed; displacing means for introducing the thus delivered commodities into successive pockets by simultaneous conversion of blanks which overlie such pockets into U-shaped bodies each of which is draped over one side face and both front faces of the respective commodity; and sets of tucking, folding and bonding means carried by and travelling with said conveyor for converting said U-shaped bodies into sealed envelopes each of which follows the outline of the respective commodity.

28. Apparatus as defined in claim 27, wherein said conveyor comprises a first annular zone which travels past said feed and said supply means and a second annular zone axially spaced from said first zone and accommodating at least some tucking, folding and bonding means of each set, said pockets being movable axially between said zones and the contents of said pockets benig movable radially in said second zone.

29. Apparatus as defined in claim 28, wherein each of said pockets comprises a pair of parallel walls and is rigid with a pair of tucking members forming part of the tucking means in the respective set, said means for moving the pockets independently of each other comprising fixed cam means adjacent to said conveyor and follower means connected with each pocket.

30. Apparatus as defined in claim 28, further comprising cam-operated ejector means for moving the contents of said pockets in the second annular zone radially of said assembly conveyor.

31. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said supply means comprises a stationary platform adjacent to the periphery of said assembly conveyor, a second conveyor for delivering commodities to said platform, and stop means adjacent to said platform to arrest the foremost 15 commodity in a position for engagement with said displacing means.

32. Apparatus for applying blanks around cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities of the type having pairs of front, side and end faces, comprising a substantially turret-shaped assembly conveyor arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a plurality of peripheral pockets each having an open side facing away from said axis and each dimensioned to receive a commodity; retaining means provided on said conveyor in the region of each pocket for yieldably holding blanks in positions in which the blanks overlie the open sides of the respective pockets; a feed for applying to said conveyor a succession of blanks which overlie successive pockets; supply means for delivering a succession of commodities to said conveyor downstream of said feed; displacing means for introducing the thus delivered commodities into successive pockets by simultaneous conversion of blanks which overlie such pockets into U-shaped bodies each of which is draped over one side face and both front faces of the respective commodity, said displacing means comprising entraining means provided on said assembly conveyor adjacent to each of said pockets to remove commodities from said supply means and stationary cam means adjacent to said conveyor to displace commodities along said entraining means and into the respective pockets; and sets of tucking, folding and bonding means carried by and traveling with said conveyor for converting said U-shaped bodies into sealed envelopes each of which follows the outline of the respective commodity.

33. Apparatus as defined in claim 32, further comprising inserting means located downstream of said cam to effect complete introduction of each successive commodity into the respective pocket.

34. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, further comprising take-off means for receiving sealed envelopes from said assembly conveyor, said take-off means comprising fixed receiving means adjacent to said assembly conveyor and a second conveyor for receiving envelopes from said fixed receiving means.

35. Apparatus as defined in claim 34, further comprising shifting means provided on said assembly conveyor for at least one of said pockets to displace the envelopes along said receiving means in response to rotation of said assembly conveyor.

36. Apparatus for applying blanks around cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities of the type having front, side and end faces, comprising a substantially turret-shaped assembly conveyor arranged to rotate about a predetermined axis, said conveyor having axially spaced first and second zones and including a plurality of peripheral receiving means each having an open side facing away from said axis and each being movable substantially axially of said conveyor between first and second positions in which such receiving means are respectively located in said first and second zones; means for moving said receiving means between first and second positions; retaining means provided on said conveyor in the region of each receiving means in said first position for holding blanks in positions in which such blanks overlie the open sides of the respective receiving means; a feed for supplying to said conveyor blanks which overlie successive receiving means in said first positions thereof; means for delivering a succession of commodities to said conveyor downstream of said feed and for introducing the thus delivered commodities into said receiving means by simultaneous partial draping of blanks which overlie such receiving means around the respective commodities; and additional means for converting the thus draped blanks into envelopes, at least a portion of said additional means being arranged to act upon the blanks while the respective receiving means assume said second positions.

37. Apparatus as defined in claim 36, wherein each of said receiving means comprises a hollow member defining a compartment whose configuration and dimensions correspond to those of a commodity.

38. Apparatus as defined in claim 37, wherein each of said hollow members has a second open side located opposite said first mentioned open side thereof.

39. Apparatus for applying blanks around cigarette packs or like box-shaped commodities of the type having pairs of front, side and end faces, comprising a substantially turret-shaped assembly conveyor arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a plurality of peripheral pockets each having an open side facing away from said axis and each dimensioned to receive a commodity; retaining means provided on said conveyor in the region of each pocket for yieldably holding blanks in positions in which the blanks overlie the open sides of the respective pockets; a feed for applying to said conveyor a succession of blanks which overlie successive pockets; supply means for delivering a succession of commodities to said conveyor downstream of said feed; displacing means for introducing the thus delivered commodities into successive pockets by simultaneous conversion of blanks which overlie such pockets into U-shaped bodies each of which is draped over one side face and both front faces of the respective commodity; sets of tucking, folding and bonding means carried by and travelling with said conveyor for converting said U-shaped bodies into sealed envelopes each of which follows the outline of the respective commodity; takeofi means for receiving sealed envelopes from said conveyor, comprising fixed receiving means adjacent to said conveyor, a second conveyor for receiving envelopes from said receiving means, and a chute disposed between said receiving means and said second conveyor; and shifting means provided on said assembly conveyor for at least one of said pockets to displace the envelopes along said receiving means in response to rotation of said assembly conveyor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 765,320 7/1904 Page et al. 53-234 1,984,850 12/1934 Van Buren 53-225 2,714,384 8/1955 Schubert 53-234 X 3,056,246 10/1962 Lyon et al. 53-225 X 3,380,227 4/1968 Youngman et al. 53-234 X 3,405,505 lO/l968 Mistarz 53-375 X THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner N. ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 53-234 

